"...Ghost Story Club Team! With a total of 30 points, you have placed Third!"
"....!"
I shot up from my seat.
'Damn it. This doesn't make any sense.'
The students around us erupted into noise.
"…Third place? Them?"
"Weren't they the best performance just now?"
"What the hell is going on? I don't get it."
"At least second place. Even if they didn't get gold, they deserved silver..."
I stayed frozen on my feet. The principal, looking just as bewildered as everyone else, turned toward me and spoke again.
"...Ghost Story Club Team, with 30 points — Third Place! Please come up to the stage to receive your award!"
"...Is this some kind of joke?*
30 points.
I stood there clenching my fists, staring at the judges' table.
Teacher Choi Jungim sat with a cold, deliberately stern expression, lips pressed tight.
'…That bitch gave us zero points.'
The principal, vice-principal, and Ms. Han Ari had each given us a perfect 10.
Teacher Choi Jungim had given us nothing.
That was why our total was exactly 30, and we dropped to third.
"...All right~ Please come forward to receive your prize…"
The principal was growing visibly nervous watching me stand there like a statue. My club members were also staring at me, faces tense.
"…Prez, what do we do? Should we go up? Or protest?"
"Joon…"
"..."
A few other students had also risen to their feet, watching me with the same confused, disapproving looks. They clearly felt something was wrong too.
But even if I fought back here… would they actually speak up for us?
This wasn't a movie.
I didn't believe a bunch of students who were seeing me for the first time today would go that far to defend me.
And in this world, there were forces far stronger than public opinion.
There were moments when, even if every citizen in the country rose up and protested with everything they had, a bad law would still remain a bad law.
That was power. Hierarchy.
In society, it was often far more powerful than the voice of the majority.
That was reality.
We weren't voters. We weren't adults. We were just ordinary students.
Even if some kids in this room grumbled about how unfair it felt, the teachers could simply ignore it. Case closed.
For them, the problem ended the moment they decided it did.
Even the principal, who had looked so kind and approachable earlier, would ultimately side with the adults.
"Because the arm always folds inward."
"....."
I stayed standing, fists clenched, eyes locked on the stage.
The principal kept wiping sweat from his forehead, his expression awkward. The whispering around me grew louder again.
"…Why is he acting like that?"
"He must be really unhappy."
"Yeah, I don't get why they only got third either…"
"But making everything this uncomfortable… is it really necessary?"
"They were good, but if that's the result, just accept it…"
"I didn't even win anything…"
"...why don't you come to the stage"
The principal's voice had taken on a half-pleading tone.
"Come on, Ghost Story Club… come forward and take your prize…"
"...Please recheck our scores, Sir,"
I said quietly.
The room grew noisy once more.
The principal wiped his forehead again and glanced down at the score sheet.
"…The scores are correct. Ghost Story Club — 30 points. Third place. Please come up and receive your award."
"..."
I tightened my fists.
"…I'm not talking about the score sheet, Sir. I believe there was an error in the judging process itself. If possible, I'd like the judging to be reviewed."
Uncomfortable looks spread through the crowd.
Whispers multiplied.
"…This kid is actually objecting, huh."
"Yeah, kinda."
"They were really good… but honestly, to push it this far?"
"He's really confident, huh. Hahaha."
What the hell was this?
My hands had started trembling.
In a situation like this, why were people looking at me like I was just seeking attention?
We were clearly superior. That was a fact.
You bastards — even if every single one of you combined your efforts, I'm still better than all of you.
This project is going to become something worth billions in the future.
You don't even understand the value of what you saw, yet you have the nerve to call me dramatic?
Bastards. From the moment your presentations were that low-quality, I already knew how this would go.
Are you not on my side either? Is that it?
Even though you know we deserved to win, because it wasn't 'you' who succeeded, you're just going to stay silent and do nothing?
Whispers—
The principal was still waiting. Every gaze directed at me carried unpleasant murmuring.
"Just standing there? Take the prize and go back to your seat."
"Do you think we're not disappointed? We didn't get any award at all."
Whispers—
"I admit they were good, but the Chemistry team was really impressive too, right? Who does he think he is to keep insisting like this?"
"Yeah, exactly. They only brought middle-school level material at best. Meanwhile that team brought something university-level."
"But they even built a physical model. It's understandable if they're upset about third place…"
"...Please come forward. This is your final warning."
The principal's tone had turned firm.
"Ghost Story Club, you are third place."
"…Please check directly with the judges, Sir. One of them gave us an extremely low score. If that can be confirmed, I'll sit down."
"…No judge gave an excessively low score."
"There was."
".....!"
The words came out almost like a direct challenge.
The entire room froze.
Students turned to stare at one another in shock.
This was an official event in front of parents and a student had just openly contradicted a teacher?
It felt like everyone's hearts had dropped into their stomachs at the same time.
The principal's expression shifted into something pleading.
"... can't you just come forward?"
"..."
At some point the whispers had completely died.
Only silence remained in the music room.
'Had enough whispering, you bastards?'
I stayed standing tall, eyes fixed sharply on the stage.
'And you, Principal. Why are you the one speaking to me in that pleading tone now?'
It was obvious teacher Choi Jungim had given us zero. So just say it — "The zero points were excessive, so we'll review it."
Why?
Why are you acting like this?
Because persuading a student is easier than persuading teacher Choi to change her score?
Because students are easier to control than teachers?
You looked like such a good person earlier… but even as principal, you can't overturn an unfair decision or stand up to one teacher?
And I trusted you.
I thought a principal would protect justice and stop something like this.
But teachers are still teachers. Adults are still adults.
The music room stayed silent.
It felt like two sides facing off — the principal on stage and me standing among the audience.
After a long moment, the principal let out a heavy sigh.
"…Huuuuuh…"
He wiped his forehead again.
"...All right. I will check. Please wait a moment."
He set the microphone down, took the score sheet, and walked over to the judges' table.
He then asked Teacher Choi Jungim
and the Vice Principal if they were sure, and finally exchanged looks with Teacher Han Ari at the host's seat, asking if she was sure about the scores, before picking up the microphone again.
"..The judges have stated they have no
intention of changing the scores. Ghost
Story Club, Bronze Prize."
The atmosphere was tense.
I stood silently, glaring at the stage.
That is? "Are you sure?" and accepted their answer?
People were glancing at me, as if
hoping I would just drop it, but I spoke
in a lovW voice again.
I spoke again, low but steady.
"…This isn't just about confirmation. One judge gave us a clearly unfair score. I'm requesting that specific score be re-evaluated."
"…They said the score was appropriate. As I already stated, the judges will not change it—"
"Then we refuse to accept this award."
".....!"
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
My teammates whipped their heads toward me, eyes wide.
"Leader…!"
"Joon…!"
"....."
Whispers broke out again.
Someone in the student section slowly raised their phone, trying to record.
"…Put your phones away."
The principal sounded exhausted. He wiped his forehead once more.
"…Haaah. Very well. We will consider the Ghost Story Club as having refused the award. Please sit down."
"....."
"Next, we will announce second place."
"Sit down?"
Just like that?
"..."
I stayed on my feet, staring at the stage while the principal avoided my eyes and continued the ceremony.
"…For second place… the stray Cat Team. With 31 points — second place. Please come forward."
"...."
I remained standing. From the front row, Chaerin and Yesul slowly stood up as well.
In the cold silence with no applause, the two girls walked toward the stage, faces stiff and uneasy.
The principal offered stiff congratulations.
"…Congratulations. You will also receive an additional prize of 100,000 won."
"Thank you…."
Chaerin glanced back at me still standing there, guilt written all over her face as she accepted the voucher.
Only then did I force my anger down and slowly sit.
My chance was gone.
"…Finally he sat down."
"wow, my heart was racing just watching.
So annoying…"
"But honestly, I'd be pissed too if I were him. They were really good."
"Ah, not really? I still think the Chemistry Club's project was better. Their material was harder and more interesting."
They thought I was beneath them because my presentation was easy to understand, while the Chemistry Club was impressive because theirs was difficult.
Some of them probably knew the truth but chose to say that anyway.
Admiration, when you peeled back one layer, often turned into envy.
If I had taken first place, they would've been forced to admit it. But since I only got third, they felt free to tear me down.
I could feel opinions splitting. I looked at the principal from my seat.
'…Principal. Are you really just going to continue like nothing happened?'
Did they think I sat down because I lacked the fucking courage to overturn everything with my team?
No.
I sat down because I knew that even if we won, the next three years of school could become hell.
'I'm very disappointed.'
I really thought he was a good person…
"..."
In the painfully awkward silence, Chaerin quickly took the voucher and returned to her seat.
"All right~ Next…"
"We will now announce first place."
I muttered in my heart again, this time without any politeness.
'…Principal, you really disappointed me.'
Continuing the event as if nothing had happened — that was what disappointed me.
His face showed guilt, but…
If he truly felt sorry, he should have immediately told teacher Choi Jungim to correct her score.
'Even if he tried to talk around it, I'm sure. That bitch was the one who gave us zero.'
Why hide it?
Afraid the school's reputation would be damaged in front of the parents?
And I — I'm just supposed to accept being treated unfairly?
'The truth is, your current attitude is what's actually damaging the school's reputation. Why can't you see that?'
"…All right. Now, first place. The winner of today's competition is… the Chemistry Club! With 32 points — congratulations to the Chemistry Club!"
The principal's face, which had looked so friendly at the beginning, now looked different to me.
Just an old man pretending to be kind.
Not a bad person… but not someone willing to get involved in anything troublesome either.
An ordinary old man who would retire next year. That was who he really was.
Swoosh—
[Understanding of the character "Principal" has increased by 20 points.]
The Chemistry Club seniors walked onto the stage with calm faces to receive their awards.p
The students who had been uncomfortable and confused finally began clapping reluctantly as the ceremony continued.
Clap. Clap. Clap…
They were no different.
Some of them probably felt the situation was unfair, but not one of them was brave enough to stand up and defend someone who wasn't even their close friend.
If, when I stood up earlier, most of the students here had spoken out too… maybe things would have turned out differently.
But they had been intimidated by difficult-sounding terms and chose to only whisper among themselves.
The principal. The students. Even the parents watching.
They all knew something was wrong.
But not a single one of them cared enough — or was brave enough — to stand up.
"Joon…"
"Prez…"
While the awards were still being given out on stage, my club members beside me were watching me with worried faces.
I turned around.
Jinhee, sitting two seats away, tilted her head and whispered while looking at me.
[Special Ability "Lip Reading" activated.]
["Hey, fu*k. What if I just mess everything up right now?"]
Even in the middle of my anger, I couldn't help a small smile.
If it was Jinhee, she really would do it.
Not just Jinhee. Every member of this club — if I gave the order right now — would be ready to storm the stage without hesitation.
They were only waiting for my decision.
Because I was the one responsible.
"…No. Don't. It's fine."
"You sure?"
I smiled at her.
Just knowing there were people who believed in me — people who were truly on my side — was enough to steady me.
Little by little, my anger cooled. My thoughts cleared.
Yeah. We could settle this another way later.
For now, I only felt a little unfairly treated. But in the end, the award would be ours.
This fight was one we had already won from the very beginning.
"…For now, let's just watch. After the competition ends, we'll talk in the clubroom. Sound good?"
"Yeah… okay…"
"Got it…"
Gyeongwon and Sunah nodded quietly, faces full of regret.
Jinhee kept her head tilted casually. Dukhun, though clearly annoyed, kept glancing at me with uncertainty.
At the end of the row, Hayoon was watching me with a slightly grim expression.
They had all been watching my face this whole time.
'…Haa. Still, it really pisses me off."
If we were adults, would they have treated us like this?
If we could record everything as evidence and take it somewhere that actually mattered—
If we knew how to use the law the way adults do—
Would they still act this way?
'…Damn it. It really feels rotten.'
There was plenty of corruption in the world, but when it came to the most frustrating kind of oppression, school ranked number one.
Because everywhere else, corruption happened between adults and adults they could at least fight back.
But when it was teachers oppressing students… students could barely fight back at all.
Even though I felt like my mentality had taken a beating,
I wasn't the kind of person who would just let injustice like this slide.
Definitely not.
I was the kind of person who would pay everything back — from start to finish.
In the same way.
'…Let's see. What would make me feel even a little better?'
"Good~ Congratulations once again. As the gold medal winners, the Chemistry Club will also receive the right to participate in the Clover Science Exhibition. Please come down from the stage—"
The Chemistry Club seniors were stepping off the stage with blank faces while the principal tried to wrap up the event with an awkward smile—
when suddenly, from the back of the hall, an angry male voice rang out.
"Excuse me, but isn't this already too far?"
The competition room, which had been starting to settle, froze again.
Everyone turned around.
"Is it allowed to be this biased? Is this even permitted?"
I turned as well, surprised.
Who was defending us?
In the parents' seating area stood a tall man who looked like a university professor.
Gyeongwon's father.
Face furious, he had risen from his seat.
"I've been quietly watching since the beginning, but this is truly excessive. Is this really acceptable?"
"…yes?"
The principal, still holding the microphone, went rigid.
He tried to respond, voice unsteady.
"…W-what do you mean…?"
"Hey, all of you!"
Gyeongwon's father raised his hand and pointed straight at the stage.
"You who are receiving the award right now — don't come down! Stay there! Yes, you! Chemistry Club!"
"…..!"
The seniors who had been descending the steps froze mid-motion.
Then Gyeongwon's father pointed directly at the judges' table — at teacher Choi Jungim.
"The team that just received the award! Isn't their instructor teacher the third-year science teacher sitting right there?"
".....!"
Students' eyes flew wide open.
Murmurs broke out among the parents.
"Oh my god, is that true?"
"How is that even allowed…?"
"A instructor teacher also serving as a judge? What the hell is this…?"
I glanced at Gyeongwon.
He had lowered his head, looking slightly embarrassed.
"…We were just having dinner as a family… and it slipped out."
"…It's fine. You did well."
I patted his back lightly.
I had been debating whether to point it out directly or just hint at it… and in the end I had only circled around it.
But when a parent raised the issue head-on, the impact was twice as strong.
"Is that true, Principal?"
Another mother stood up and shouted toward the stage.
"Was she really their supervising teacher?"
"N-no… I mean…"
The principal stammered, panicking.
"It wasn't there must be a misunderstanding—"
"Enough with the lies! I heard it myself from the start of the competition — you were always together!"
Gyeongwon's father's furious voice cut through the hall again. The principal could only wipe his forehead.
"W-well… she 'was*' originally their supervising teacher, but after being appointed as a judge, another teacher took over the role. It was just a misunderstanding, truly…"
"Then when they go to the finals, she'll become their instructor teacher again? And no one will know? We're not idiots!"
"Exactly!!"
The loud declaration from Gyeongwon's father shattered the principal's excuse.
Other parents immediately joined in, voices rising in agreement.
Crazy…
The school had already prepared a defense for exactly this kind of situation — claiming the teacher was no longer the advisor.
But faced with Gyeongwon's father's righteous anger, the excuse collapsed c
I let out a sigh of relief. Finally, it wasn't me who had to speak up.
,'Ms. Choi Jeong-im… You really planned this that far ahead, huh?'
"Oh my god, so that's what that student meant earlier about the unfair scores? They rigged it from the beginning!"
"Principal! Answer us!"
"Principal!!"
From the back, parents began standing up one after another, shouting toward the podium.
The principal started panicking, his eyes darting quickly between the judges and the parents, his mouth stammering.
"Uh… w-well… for competitions like this, the head science teacher for third-year usually handles all the technical aspects, so it was unavoidable—"
"But she still can't be a judge! That's a clear conflict of interest!"
"Answer us! What score did that teacher give? Come on, say it!"
Gyeongwon's father shouted even louder.
"Hey! Tell us right now! What score did you give the Ghost Story Club that my son is in? And what about the Chemistry team? Say it now!"
"Well… it's like this…"
The principal wiped his sweat and picked up a sheet of paper.
It seemed he had realized that if he let the situation continue, it would be better to side with the parents to avoid causing even bigger problems.
Perhaps feeling there was no way out anymore, the principal finally revealed everything without any filtering.
"…For the Ghost Story Club, they were given 0 points. For the Chemistry Club, they were given 10 points."
It seemed the principal was the type of person who wanted to appear as a good person as long as he stayed in his comfort zone.
But when it came to a critical moment, he showed a very opportunistic side.
Flash—
[Understanding of the character "Principal" has increased by 20 points.]
"What?!"
"This is outrageous!"
Giving 0 to the opposing team and 10 to their own.
The parents immediately stood up in unison, shouting emotionally as they pushed forward toward the podium through the rows of students.
"What score did my child get?!"
"Yeah, what about my child?! Answer us!"
"Th-that is…"
The principal could only keep wiping the sweat from his face over and over.
That was the consequence of his actions.
He wasn't a bad person, really. But because he tried too hard to protect his own people — this was the karma coming back to him.
'If it's wrong, then it should be called wrong. Why sacrifice the students while protecting the teacher? That was clearly your mistake.'
I had already given him plenty of chances.
That's why, now that he was being attacked like this, I didn't feel any sympathy for him at all.
"It's obvious she's the supervising teacher — how could she sit as a judge?! Are you out of your mind?!"
"…Because we're short on science teachers at our school, so we had no choice…"
"So that's how it is! My child only got a consolation prize, and it was because of cheating? They should've gotten a higher score, right?!"
"…Please calm down first… Besides, that teacher gave high scores to all the other teams too…."
The principal opened a sheet of paper and showed it.
It seemed Ms. Choi Jeong-im had deliberately given high scores to every other team, so that she wouldn't just eliminate us from first place, but also from silver and bronze rankings.
However, once the fact of "cheating" was exposed, the parents' anger could no longer be contained.
"And we're supposed to just believe that?! Redo it! Redo everything!"
"Look at it yourselves! On the score sheet, only the Ghost Story Club got 0 — every other team got high scores—"
"What about the other judges then?! If the person in charge is already cheating, who can guarantee the other judges didn't pull something behind the scenes too?!"
"That's right! That young teacher sitting in the corner is also a science teacher, right? Who knows if she's also the advisor for one of the teams!"
"P-please don't speculate too much and calm down first—"
"You think we can calm down in a situation like this?! Huh?!"
"Please re-evaluate my child's score too! Right now!"
"My child too! My child's team needs to be re-scored as well!"
"Redo it! Redo everything from the beginning!"
The parents below the stage shouted loudly while pointing up at the stage, while the principal on the podium looked completely panicked and flustered.
Meanwhile, Ms. Han Ari was like a chick trying to hide, shrinking down and hiding half her body behind the host table.
The vice-principal sitting at the judges' table could only stand frozen, face completely stiff, staring toward Ms. Choi Jeong-im.
And — in the middle of the chaos — Ms. Choi Jeong-im herself remained sitting with her arms crossed, her expression wrinkled and sour, as if none of this had anything to do with her.
'Impressive. Truly.'
But on the other hand, I felt a little grateful.
At least she wasn't the type of person who was hypocritical or two-faced.
From the very first meeting with the principal that started this whole event, until now in front of all the parents, she had consistently shown her attitude that was truly — insane.
"!#$^#@%^#…"
"#$%#$#@$..."
Parents continued shouting and protesting, while the principal desperately tried to calm the situation.
Even though all of this was quite entertaining to watch, in the end, Gyeongwon's father was still a parent of a student from a losing team. That meant he had a direct stake in it, and that's why he spoke out so strongly.
The other parents whose children also didn't win joined in supporting him because they had nothing to lose.
Meanwhile, we — the students who were the real victims — could only sit quietly, like chaff thrown aside in the middle of a wheat field.
'If we had been the ones to stand up and fight first, they would've just said we were being rude and scolded us, right?'
Because, as long as we stayed within the framework called "adults," the school and the parents would always be on the same side.
I watched all this chaos with a bitter, wry smile.
My teammates could only stare at the stage in disbelief at what was happening.
"Hey, you over there! Supervising teacher! If you have something to say, just say it! Here, I'll give you the mic!"
"That's right! You still call yourself a teacher? You should be ashamed — have a little dignity!"
Gradually, all the fingers of anger were now pointing at Ms. Choi Jeong-im, the teacher who was also sitting at the judges' table.
Then that teacher — with the same sour expression as before, as if very annoyed at being treated as insignificant — took the microphone.
And in a low but firm voice, she said:
"Shut up, all of you. You punks."
"...!"